Woman who stole over £4,000 from female stroke survivors warned she faces jail

Pre-sentence report ordered after Lurgan woman admits theft

A Co Armagh woman who stole over £4,000 from a group set up to help young female stroke survivors has been warned she can expect to go to prison.

District Judge Bernie Kelly ordered a pre-sentence report in the case of Lurgan woman Valerie Dale.

The 44-year-old, from Cottage Hill, had been accused of stealing a total of £4,040 from Young Women After Stroke – a group for which was she a coordinator – on dates between April 1, 2015, and April 1, last year.

Dale pleaded guilty to two charges of theft, one count of false accounting and two counts of fraud by abuse of position at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

This project was part-funded under Priority 6 (Leader) of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, by the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs, & the European Union.